In a story by the Associated Press Northrop Grunmman had to return to Louisiana $35 million because of poor employment at its Avondale facility. Former Louisiana governor Mike Foster pledged $56 million to Northrop as part of an upgrade of Avondale in exchange to employ 5200 full time workers and to train new skilled craftsmen. Northrop reached that employee level in only 12 or 16 quarters, the last time in 2005 which resulted in the returned money.
Northrop shipbuilding activity was mainly for military equipment and when that petered out trouble began. What this story proves is it was the national economy that kept Northrop going with their military contracts and not job creation by the state of Louisiana, its politicians or Northrop. The Louisiana economy had not provided Northrop with jobs since 2005 hence, they never met the employment quota since then.
The real sad story is the $7.1 billion Louisiana gives out to businesses in the form of tax exemptions every year. That accounts for approximately 30% of the state budget and is supposed to create jobs. But it does not. Unemployment in April 2011was 7.4% compared to 6.6% in April of 2010. (Source: Louisiana Workforce Commission) Unemployment in Louisiana in January 2008 when Jindal took office was 3.8%. Once again it is the national economy that creates the jobs, not Louisiana's politicians or the massive tax exemptions given to business under the guise of job creation.
The state of Louisiana under the Jindal administration has failed to balance one state budget since he took office. (See note 1) Jindal has the failed conservative ideology like the last three republican Presidents and many other state governors. His recent veto of the 4 cent tax extension on cigarettes points out how unfit he is to run the states fiscal health. His warped mind does not even accept that this tax should have been extended.
Note 1: Here is how Jindal's budgets work: Every year he and the legislature meet and tells the people that the budget is out of balance and the legislature in its sessions declare the budget to be balanced. However, before the fiscal year is over the governor announces the budget is out of balance by millions of dollars and more has to be cut. This year Jindal announced the next fiscal year budget which begins on July 1 has a projected $1.5 billion dollar deficit The legislature is now in session and will announce at the end this week that the budget is balanced. Then 6 months or less from now Jindal will announce the budget is still millions of dollars out of balance. It is the same old conservative republican fiscal con game.
